FEAR
by TheMasterMind666
Summary: Oliver is trapped and helpless in the hands of his greatest enemies. With no rescue what will happen to our hero when the darkness is all that there is? He will have to make his choices and live with the consequences, but when those choices could determine a whole city's fate, it's natural that the choices made are the wrong one, but will it be too late to save what has been made?
1. Chapter 1 Captured

Chapter 1: Captured

The rain battered down on the rooftops of Star City. Oliver was soaked, his leather suit and hood only managing to keep the water out. "Felicity, I doing a final sweep of the city, but it all looks quite. Why don't you head off on that holiday with your families."

"What are you on about Oliver?" Questioned Felicity over the radio.

"I've booked a holiday for you and your mother and Diggle and his wife somewhere warm for two weeks. Enjoy!"

"Wait, Oliver we're not leaving." Diggle exclaimed.

"What if I say it's a free trip to Metropolis, the other know you're going and that you don't really have a choice. Besides you need a break and I would be glad of the alone time."

"Fine Oliver we'll go. When is the flight." Felicity asked.

"Two hours from now," Oliver replied "but don't worry your things are ready and waiting with the other two at Star airport on board a private jet."

"OK Oliver we're off, but don't do anything stupid whilst we're gone." Felicity added with joy running through her voice which brought a smile to his face.

The at last the radio dropped silent and he breathed a sigh of relief at his new found freedom. He was now alone, they were off on holiday. Thea was with her father, Malcolm, training with the League of Assassins, after Oliver had refused to train her for fear of her becoming out of control.

He had almost done his sweep when he came a cross a robbery down at the docks. He moved in for a closer look, using the grates he made his way inside, his aim was simple take down the men with as little commotion as possible. Usually he would do this by picking them off from a vantage point with his bow, but on closer inspection he realise that they were wearing protective vests that would easily stop an arrow. He would have do do this hand to hand. He leapt from the air vent landing two foot away from the men before they just simply vanished. He looked around as the exits and openings were sealed before gas began to leak into the room.

 _It was a trap!_

Soon Oliver found himself falling into unconsciousness until eventually he was out.


	2. Chapter 2 A new home

Chapter 2: A new home

Oliver awoke unaware of the two days that had past since the docks, he tried to move but found his arms chained above him connect to a bar of the cell that kept him prisoner. He knew how to free himself from this but as he began to climb he found that he couldn't. Upon closer inspection he found that his feet were securely chained to the ground.

Oliver looked around the room, it's stainless white walls offered no suggestion of where he was kept, but he presumed that whoever was mart enough to capture him was smart enough to relocate him out of the city. He then looked around studying the four cameras located in each corner of the cage, then another one above him. On the wall which he was facing sat a large steal door. There was no apparent way to open the door so Oliver presumed that the lock was on the other side or controlled by a man in a small room tucked far beyond the wall of the room.

It had been what Oliver presumed an hour before a band of men came into the room. He recognise them instantly, in the centre of the row stood Slade Wilson, who held a strong grudge against Oliver for what happened on the island with Shadow. On his left stood Count Vertigo and Scarecrow, _'Two Peas in a Pod'_ Oliver thought to himself. Then on the other side stood Ra's Al Ghul, the man Oliver had lost to before returning from the dead then killing him, _Well at least he thought he killed him._

Slade was the first to talk, "Well Oliver Queen," It was then that Oliver realised that his hood was down and he was unmasked but all but one of the men knew he was anyway so he didn't waist energy troubling himself about it. "The great Green Arrow, Not so tough without your bow are you now." Slade continued.

"What do you want Slade, I've paid the price for what I did to Shadow, I paid it with my mothers life, what more do you want."

"Not me but when these guys came to me saying they had a plan to capture you... well how could I resist."

"Tell me, what did I do to Scarecrow?"

"Seems he just tagged along for the fun, and with his knowledge of things that inflict fear and pain, we found him sort of useful."

Oliver looked to Scarecrow, he had heard of the struggle that Batman had containing him when he got out of control, at times he seemed worse than the Joker. "Well Crane, what do you have in store for me? Let me guess a fear Gas or some type of toxin."

Crane didn't answer, instead Slade answered for him. "Oh Oliver, using fear gas would be too easy."

"The easy way to do what?" Oliver Questioned the man.

"To break you Oliver. Turn you against your instinct to save and protect, into a man who will kill and seek destruction and the fear of others. See Oliver we're going to turn you into you're worst nightmare, Us!"

"You don't get it, do you? I will never change. As long as there's still a city to protect the Green Arrow lives!"

"OLIVER! YOU'RE MY PRISIONER, AND YOU WILL DO AS I COMAND. YOU WILL FALL, YOU WILL BREAK AND WHEN THAT'S ALL OVER YOU WILL WATCH YOUR WHOLE LIFE, THOSE YOU LOVE AND THIS CITY, YOU WILL WATCH AS IT CRUMBLES AROUND YOU AT YOUR HAND!" Slade spat his anger getting the best of him.

" So what are you going to do torture me? Remember Slade you made me who I am, you trained me to withstand the pain, to never let your pain and suffering be your weakness."

"You're right Boy, I did make you and I can break you!" At this Slade left the small room soon followed by Crane and Vertigo. All that was left was Ra's and he was determined not to leave. "What do you want Ra's?" Oliver asked the warrior who stood before him puzzled and confused at the sight that was before him.

"Nothing much Oliver. Just wondering how a man who I killed then came from the dead before defeating me could fall so low." This caught Oliver's new found attention to the man.

"So you want revenge?" He asked the man who stood just out of reach beyond the bars of his cell.

"No Oliver I believe I already have. You see I have gathered a small army and are now preforming an attack on Malcolm's empire and those who stand in my way will die!"

Oliver's heart plummeted to a new low. _'Thea!'_ he gasped pulling tight on his chains as he tried to reach Ra's. Thea was with Malcolm training. He gazed at the man his eyes harsh full of rage and anger that he couldn't find anywhere to place. "What was that Oliver? Oh yes Thea your precious sister, she's with the League of Assassins, what a shame." He let out a small chuckle.

"Don't you dare hurt her!"Oliver shouted to the man who showed no reaction.

"We'll see Oliver. If you cooperate she may not be harmed."He let out a smile leaving Oliver without the answer. _How much would he sacrifice to protect her?_


	3. Chapter 3 Fight for freedom

Chapter 3: The Fight for Freedom

It had been two days since Oliver's meeting with the men who captured him, since then he hadn't seen anyone. His stomach growled with pain and his parched lips craved the soothing touch of water. The two days had left Oliver weak, weaker than he had ever been before. He stood shackled to the cage, witch was the only thing keeping him upright, his hands numb and blistered as he strained against the chains.

Then suddenly the door slid open. Oliver kept his chin firmly against his chest giving the appearance of unconsciousness. "Wake up Boy!" He recognised that voice, it was Slade. Oliver kept his head down and stayed as still as possible. Then he heard the cage door open and the footsteps of Slade grew louder. Then they stopped. Oliver could feel his presence just in front of him. "Wake Up!" Slade shouted accompanied with a gut shot to Oliver which made him double over in pain. Slade grabbed Oliver's chin by the hand lifting it till both men's eyes met.

"When I speak you listen to me boy. Is that understood?" Oliver let out a small smile before head butting Slade square in the head that forced him to step back.

"You'll pay for that boy, in blood and pain!" He said wiping the blood from his broken nose. Then two men entered the cage before unlocking Oliver from his shackles. Oliver managed to stay to his feet but was swaying from side to side, he was then escorted out of the room.

It was a long walk down a maze of corridors until they reached their destination, then as the door in front of them open Oliver gulped as fear ran down his body. Inside stood a fighting cage but the room stood empty. "Take him to the over room and get him suited up."

"What is this Slade?"

" Why Oliver once the criminal world had heard of your capture there was mob outside of the door. So this is our solution, you will fight, win ten games and you'll win your freedom. Sounds fair."Oliver didn't reply and was dragged into the other room.

As he entered he room the door was locked behind him. Inside the room was small barely able to fit a bed and a desk into it. Through another room was a small bathroom with a shower. He then returned to the other room where he found his hood and mask laid on the bed. He didn't know how long he had before they returned so he slipped into the shower. The hot water felt good on his soar muscles, he stayed in the shower for another fifteen minute seeking the warmth.

He stepped out of the shower feeling ten times better than he had done before, then he slipped on hi suit before covering his eyes with his mask. He pulled his hood up just as Slade entered the room. He followed Slade to the cage before stepping inside. Around him the room filled with familiar faces,he recognised many who had come from different cities, he never knew that so many people had a grudge with him. Slade began to talk and Oliver turned to him. "This is how it goes, the Green Arrow here has fifteen battles if he wins ten he gets to walk free and if not well he knows what will happen to him. So let the fight begin." The crowd roared in delight as Oliver's first opponent walked up t the cage before stepping inside opposite Oliver.

He recognised his first opponent instantly, it was Huntress. He had trained her to fight but she had always preferred the methods of evil to get rid of people. After Oliver had gotten her locked away he wasn't surprised he held a grudge with him. He looked into the darkened eyes of the woman that he had once loved but he found no traces of that woman, instead he stared at an empty shell full of rage and anger.

Suddenly she moved, charging towards Oliver, he had only seconds to react and dodged out of the way sending her tumbling to the iron bar of the cage. "Helena this isn't you!" He shouted trying to get the woman to snap out of the trance but found that she was in none. Helena stood before running towards Oliver, he had no choice he was going to have to take her out the hard way.

As she came racing toward him he ducked sending her toppling over him to the floor where she landed face first. She struggled to her knees before coming at Oliver once more. She was stronger than he anticipated but her anger made he weak and predictable. Oliver jumped as soon as she was within reach send his foot colliding with the side of the face, and as she fell to the floor Oliver looked to Slade whose face was filled with amazement. Oliver's attention was drawn from Slade s two men entered the ring guns trained on Oliver, Oliver raced his hands and stepped back from Helena. The men proceeded with removing Helena from the cage. Oliver looked to the crowd, "Who's next?" He laughed.


	4. Chapter 4 Fallen Worrier

**Sorry it's been a really, really long time since I have updated, as I recalled it was January and now it's March. That's a long time.**

 **Anyway, here's chapter 4- Fallen Worrier.**

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Twelve fights later Oliver was bloodied and bruised, a line of blood running from an open cut on his cheek which curved and met his lips, leaving the taste of blood lingering on his lips. He had won nine battles now with only two more to go he only had to be victorious in one. But he was becoming weak, in the last few rounds his opponent was given a weapon whilst he was left unarmed and defenceless. This was one battle that he knew that would be extremely difficult to win, but it was one he had to win for his freedom, for his life.

Now he was tired, the past ten hours of back to back fighting had taken there toll on billionaire playboy, with no sleep, no food and no water, Oliver judged that he didn't have much more energy if he had any at all. He watched as the guards drag his latest opponent out of the cage all the while keeping their guns aimed on the hood. The cage shut. Oliver turned to Slade, and got a smile back, he was planning something, but what? "Now with only two fights left the all mighty arrow only has to win one... Now let's welcome his next opponent Ra's Al Ghul. The leader of the league of Assassins."

From the doors, located just behind the watching crowd, emerged a battle ready worrier. He branded steel grasped in his right hand, as he made his way towards the cage.

Once he had stepped foot through the barred door it was locked behind his, locking the two men inside, only one would leave, whether it was walking or being dragged out depended solely on the battle before them.  
Ra's stood before a shaken Oliver, his eyes could barely be seen under the hood, but the anger there could not go unnoticed. He noticed that the vigilante was swaying on his feet, and the past thirteen fights had made the one strong and brave man, weak and skittish. "Give him a sword, I will not fight an unarmed man." The worrier demanded and a few seconds later a sword was held through the bars.

He watched as his opponent made his was and grabbed the weapon, all the while keeping the man kept his eye's trained on him. Now that he was armed, the fight could begin, and within only a few moments it did.

Sword came down on sword sending a flurry of sparks around the cell. Oliver kept focus on blocking the attacks, he did not have much energy to spare on wasted attacks which would only lead his further down the path of failure. He waited and waited hoping to see the demon make a mistake, even the slightest could offer his ticket to freedom, but non came and all he could do was wait for what he knew would no come. He was becoming even weaker, his arms ached from previous battles and the time when he could no longer hold onto the sword was approaching and fast.

Ra's' sword came down, time and time again till the inevitable happened, Oliver's grip on his weapon loosened sending his sword flying and Ra's' slicing through his flesh on the side of his chest cutting through the thick layers of leather and skin.

Oliver fell to his knee's his right hand racing up to the wound on his left, he drew it away, and examined the hand covered with crimson blood. He kept his head down, and did not look when Ra's left the cell.

He heard the man's voice over the speakers, "The Arrow now only has one battle left, only one chance to earn his freedom. Here's the vigilante's net opponent- DeathStroke." Oliver's head raised at theses words. He was to fight DeathStroke the man who he had failed to kill on several occasions, the man who killed his mother. This was personal, he killed his mother and he was responsible for the death of Shadow.

Somehow, Oliver managed to make it to his feet as Slade entered the cage, for a brief moment they locked eyes with each other. Slade began to circle Oliver, their eye's never once unlocking from the gaze. "Look how far you have fallen, the mighty Arrow, broken and beaten..."

"Not yet!" Oliver snapped back.

"Why don't you just give in, you have nothing left to fight for..."

"I fight for them, those you have not taken from me, I fight to protect them."

"They're gone!" He voice then turned from a shout to a whisper making sure the audience didn't hear the coming words as he stepped before Oliver, "You have failed Oliver, they're gone, dead. You could not protect them, you have failed."

Oliver stumbled back a few paces, _'Dead' no how could that be, how could that happen?_

* * *

 _ **Several Hours Earlier.**_

Felicity hauled he luggage through the lobby of Starling Airport, beside her carrying a rather smaller bag was Diggle. "How do you think Oliver is coping without us?"

"I'm sure he is fine. Come on, the sooner we get going the sooner you can see him" Diggle handed Felicity his bag whilst he grabbed her suitcase, he tried to pick it up but was immediately drawn back down to the floor "God what the hell have you got in here?"

"Just stuff." Felicity laughed as he finally managed to lift the bag two inches off the floor before making their way to the car, which was conveniently park on the opposite side of the car park.

They puled up sometime later outside the old Queen Industry factory turned clubhouse which was home to their secret base. Leaving their bags in the car they entered and went straight to the basement.

Felicity was expecting Oliver to be waiting by the computers or working on his arrows, but the room was empty and desolate. Something told the two that someone hadn't been down there for a long time. "Where is he? He knows that we are returning today doesn't he?" She pulled her phone from her pocket. "I'll phone him." She located Oliver's contact on her phone and rang. A few moments later it went straight to answer phone. "Where is he?"

"He's safe." Said a chilly voice from the shadows. Felicity startled as a man emerged form the shadows, she immediately recognised him as Slade.

Diggle stepped in, "What have you done with Oliver?"

After hearing the commotion Thea, came into the basement followed by Sarah and Laurel, who had also been away over the past few weeks.

When they saw Slade back from the dead they split into action, and the fight began.

It was nearly half an hour later when the fight was over, and Slade stepped back, "You have won this round, but don't expect it to be over." With that Slade withdrew back into the darkness and left.

"Oliver?" Questioned Thea.

"Slade's got him." Replied Diggle.

"What does he want with him?"

"I don't know."

Slade entered the car and sat beside Ra's, "That went well."

"You could of helped."

"I thought that you was strong enough without having to get the league involved. Anyway, they're not dead, we have not leverage over Oliver. Thee only way to break him, is if they were dead, and they're not."

"Then we lie, he does not need to know the truth, he will yield, I will make sure of that."

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 _ **Present Time**_

Slade knew that he did not have to fight that there would be no need. Oliver was weak, now after his fight was Ghul he was even more so. The blow that his friends were dead was enough to beat the vigilante who had been formed around the idea of helping those around him, to discover that those he loved the most were dead, and he wasn't there to stop them, because he was so careless to let himself to get captured.

He watched as Oliver fell to his knees, his breath heavy. He knelt down beside him, "Do you yield now?"

"Never!" Oliver shouted as he lunged towards Slade, but Slade was prepared for him and his fist collided with Oliver's sending him spiralling back towards the ground.

Oliver gasped as he felt blood drip from his nose onto the hard floor. He heard the words, "You have failed Oliver, and you will yield and eventually you will bow before us," before he fell into unconsciousness.

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 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm hoping that it wont be another 3 months till I next update. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5- Just Give In

**Thank you for the reviews, here is Chapter 5- Just Give In...**

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 **Just Give In**

 _What's more dangerous than a worrier?_

 _A worrier that has nothing to loose and everything to fight for_

Oliver awoke in a very uncomfortable position, his knees ached with pain, he tried to move but found out that he couldn't. He opened his eyes in s start, bright light flooding into he but that was of little concern. After his eyes focused h saw a chain before him that stretched out to connect to the white polished floor. His curious nature caused him to wonder what it was attached to, but once he tried to move to see the why he couldn't move he found out what it was attached to, his neck.

As he pulled harder on the chain the metal collar that was attached round his neck became clear. It was cold and heavy, it wasn't that big but was thick . He manoeuvred his head so he could see a bit of the chains behind him. Chains were attached to his ankles and the shot length of chain bolted to the ground allowing for little movement. His hands were bound behind him, a length of chain attaching them to the ground behind. Around his stomach was a large ring, two chains from either side bottled to the floor at each side, keeping Oliver in a kneeling position.

He then looked around the room, it was white, probably the only word Oliver could use to describe it. All four walls where white, their plastic surfaces polished to a shine, on the wall in front of him he could see the faint outline of a door which could only be opened from the outside, for he could see no handle or opening mechanism on the inside. The floor and ceiling were also white and polished, on the celling were rows f LED lights, their rays bouncing of the white surfaces, some into his eyes.

Like he expected his hood was down and his mask had been removed but the tunic still remained. Suddenly as the panic subsided, he began to feel pain. At first he did not know where or what it was coming from, then he remembered, the fight with Ra's. He had been to week to hold a defence. He tilted his head so that he could see where the wound was, his tunic had been stitched up he so he came the conclusion that his captors didn't want him injured.

He thought back to that fight, the realisation that he lost, that there was still another to come. But he could not remember the fight, he needed to remember what had happened, why had he lost, why had he passed out? He focused on the basic questions, who was he fighting, what had been said?

He focused for several minutes, then it all came flooding back to him. He had been fighting Ra's, no that was incorrect they didn't actually fight, just spoke. What was said? He thought further then remembered, _"You have failed Oliver, they're gone, dead. You could not protect them, you have failed."_

As the memory returned Oliver gasped in shock, a fresh tear forming in his eye before rolling down his cheek before dripping off the end of he chin, soon he was fully embraced in a small cry. The blow was as hard as it had been at the time, _they couldn't be dead, not not them, not Felicity, not Diggle, not Laurel, not Thea. Everything that had driven him on over the past few years, all those that comforted him when things were down, those who cared for him when he was injured. All dead and he wasn't there to protect them._ Oliver startled at the sound of the door being unlocked. _But shush, no more, you can not et them see your weakness._

As the door was finally fully opened, Oliver kept his head down his eyes closed. He heard footsteps heading towards him, then they stopped. He kept his breathing slow, trying his hardest to appear unconscious, but when a firm hand grabbed his chin and tilt it upwards he was forced to look into the eye's of his captors.

Knelt before him was Ra's, then behind him was Slade. Scarecrow and the Count were nowhere to be seen, "Where are the other two?" He questioned.

"Getting ready." Replied Slade as he unfolded his arms and stepped forward.

"For what?"

"You. Today you will change,, you will join us."

"I will never join you." The defiance in his blue eyes as clear as day, he had noting to loose, and he would fight, he would fight till he was broken. He would not give in, not till every will was broken and remoulded into what his enemy wanted, his fight would not end, never. He had everything to fight for and he would, till the very end.

"Oh Oliver, why do you still fight when you have nothing to fight for? Your friends are dead, you are alone, you have nothing, the city is blaming all the destruction that we have caused since your capture on you, you left them. You are no longer their hero, they have lost faith in you. Give up your pitiful little fight and join us."

Oliver tugged on his chains, the anger building up inside him giving him new strength. He stopped when Ra's' hand came down across his face, he felt the warm blood trickle from his nose down into his mouth. "Crane get in here and administer our little friend your potion."

Oliver looked up as the door opened and Crane stepped through followed by Vertigo. Crane held a large needle in his hand filled with a blue liquid, whilst Vertigo held a medium sized needle filled with a blood red substance, they advanced towards him.

He began to struggle, "Keep him still" demanded Crane, as Ra's tightened his grip on Oliver's face and Slade held his arms tightly against his chest. He couldn't move.

Crane moved to stand on his left and Count on the right, they held the needles up to his neck and in sink they pierced the skin, the contents draining into the blood filled veins.

"What the hell did you give me?"

"A substance which will make you more susceptible to pain, and one that enhances pain. Along with a little dose of Crane's famous fear toxin. Oliver you will feel pain you never imagined."

It took only seconds for the drugs to take effect. Oliver felt like ever muscle in his body was on fire, each nerve felt like it was being severed time and time again. He closed his eye's trying to ease the pain, but he could not escape, he began hearing voices. He heard her, _You left us Oliver, we died because of you. I trusted you._ He would recognise that voice anywhere, the love of his life, Felicity Smoke. "No,no,no,no" He gasped, as tears fell down his face.

"Do you give in now Oliver? One simple word and the pain can go away. Just say it."

A small voice came into his head: _**Just Give In...**_

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 **I know that it was a short chapter, but I thought it appropriate to leave it there. I hope to have the next chapter up soon.**

 **PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW ;-)**

 **RavenLu22...**


	6. Chapter 6- Oliver Queen is Dead

**Hey I'm back at long last, I've been struggling with what to write with this chapter. For those who asked if this will be updated weekly is that I don't know. It seems thst now I know where this story is going so is going to be easier to write. So I'd expect one every few weeks or so...**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter, I think it's the longest..**

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 **Chapter 6**

 **Oliver Queen is Dead**

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Oliver was alone in his cell, his mind was wearing, he became tired, weak and disorientated. The white cell was constantly cold, it did not help that he was topless allowing his captors to see the scars that ran through his skin like frozen rivers. He was not allowed to sleep, everytime he so much as looked as if he was going to doze off, sprinklers hidden in the white ceiling sprayed burning cold water over his body that ran with blood creating a pink puddle about his knees where the crimson liquid had mixed with pure water. Once bright blue eyes had dimmed, the sockets had become almost black as bags appeared under his eyes from torturing days without sleep. He had spent five years on an island, even so he admitted that this was worse.

Unlike the island here he could not rest, he was constantly tired although he was doing very little; he was restrained, his freedom all but stripped from him. He was forced to rely on his captors for his life, to bring him food and water.

At the beginning he resisted with all his might, refused to eat or drink, that had all stopped when Ra's has spat a phrase at his face, 'we know who your friends are, they're back in Star City', Oliver had prayed with all his will that even though he was locked up who knows where his friends would be safe and out of harms way, after all he was what these criminals wanted. Now fearing for his sisters life, for John, his wife and child Sarah, then there was Laurel and her family, Captain Lance and then Sarah the White Canary who was off fighting crime along time, at least she was out of their reach along with the others that had gone. Then on top was Felicity, the love of his life, who knew what he would do if she was to get harmed by his own hands for being so stubborn. Who else do they know about? Oliver wondered. Roy? His thoughts turned to alarms as one young boy's name popped into his mind, William, what if they knew of his son's existence.

He let his mind wonder, it kept him from boredom, from insanity that was creeping closer every. His ears pricked up when he heard a lock click, he kept his eyes down but his ears were on full alert. He listened to the footsteps of the person, that was the first the way that he would identify the person who had walked through the door which led to his freedom. However these footsteps were new, he could not tie them to any of the men that held him captive.

"Oliver Queen. I always wondered who was under that green hood, I came so close yet you slipped my grasp." Oliver didn't flinch as a cold hand laid upon his hair, "Now here you are chained on your knees before me, and I didn't even have to lift a finger." A finger tranced it way down past his ear till it reached the jaw line, then suddenly a firm hand grasped his chin making him flinch slightly. His face was roughly tilted up till he looked into the blue eyes of a white haired man, he knew the man instantly, this man had been plaguing the streets of his city, painting it in the color of fear, the man before him was Damien Darhk.

"Darhk?" Oliver hissed his throat saw from the lack of water for so long.

"Your observation is correct Queen." Now that Oliver had locked his eyes on his enemy he would not release it. Damien by far was the most powerful opponent that he had see, Sladed had been a superhuman, but he could still take an arrow, but Darhk was able to stop the arrow, bullets just passed straight through him.

"What are you doing here?" Oliver questioned.

"It seems that even with all their combined strength they cannot break you. So we made a deal." Oliver's eyes remained locked on his enemy, but the rest of him seemed lifeless as he did. When it seemed that Oliver wasn't going to share the question rolling on his mind he answered it for him. "I made a deal. I help them, how would one put it?" He mused, his eyes widened when he got the answer, "To help them tame the green arrow. If l do that you will belong to me, Oliver. One day you will call me master."

Oliver ripped his head from the grip of the evil man, he would never call this man master. Instead of talking he just glared at him, he pulled slightly on the chains in anger, he knew that Darhk was not right in the head but this was just insanity. What made his change his mind?

"Now, now arrow. Don't get restless, once your tamed you will be allowed off them chains, you will become my warrior, you will do my bidding for me. You will help me take over Star City." With that he smiled and left, leaving Oliver alone drowning in his thoughts. Mear seconds after the door had shut with a click the lights went out, plunging him into the never ending blackness.

Oliver's mind raced, it went so fast that he struggled to keep up with it, he couldn't imagine a life where he would help that wizard rule the world. Even so he was so weak, he wouldn't be able to fight him if he was free of the chains. By counting how many times they had brought food to him he guessed that it had been three months since he had been captured, his friends hadn't come to rescue him, he didn't know where he was, he doubted that the rest of the gang would. His mind then settled on a future that could be possible, he could be here forever, chained and helpless. He could do nothing to help the world like that but if he was with Darhk then maybe there was a chance...

He found it even harder now not to fall asleep, that would be if he wasn't constantly sprayed with water if he did.

It was hours later when the door opened and the lights flickered on stinging his eyes. He rose his head for a change and looked at the man who was walking through the door, it was Ra's.

"Feeling a bit more alive are we Queen?" He asked walking over to the kneeling man a small bowl of white mush in his hands. Oliver watched him nervously, Ghul was the main culprit for who was responsible for the fresh wounds over his already scared body. He went to grasp the vigilante's hair, to pull his head back so the mush could be poured into his mouth like he did every day without resistance, however this time Oliver jerked his head away, the hand missed its target. Ra's raised an eyebrow looking Oliver who had his head angled away staring at the white floor, this was new, what did it mean?

He tried the man, "Oliver look at me." He knew that was bargaining here but he felt as the man who once knelt there was no longer there. The bargain paid off, Oliver turned his head and looked at him, the look was no longer a glare with his eyes glazed over in hatred, but they were of a man who knew he was beaten. A smile twinged on the demons lips, his prey was broken at last.

The bowl of mush was fed to the vigilante without using force or threats but willingly. As he turned to leave the room he gave one glance to his enemy, there in the corner of his eyes was a small spark of defiance, but soon that would have completely vanished and the darkness will be allowed to finish the meal that it started many years before.

* * *

4 months later

Felicity, Diggle, Thea and Laurel sat in the bunker under the old headquarters for Oliver Queen's campaign for Mayor of Star City. It had been seven months since Oliver had been taken by the villains that had joined together and joined Damien Darhk's organization Hive. Now Hive had grown bigger, Ra's had taken back the League of Assassins so that organization had joined with Hive, to add more problems they had gained many lethal drugs off of Crane and Vertigo, Slade had also joined with his superhuman army.

Then the Green Arrow was nowhere to be seen, Diggle (Spartan), Speedy, the Black Canary along with Felicity (Overwatch) had been protecting the city but without Oliver it had been an impossible task. Crime rates had dramatically increased, people no longer went out at night in fear of being rob, assaulted and even murdered. The police force could not control the problem and Darhks wife had taken over the mayor's office, she appeared to be helping but the group of vigilantes knew the darkness that she was feeding the city and were powerless to stop.

Now they gathered around the large screen in room, there was a going to be a speech performed by Ruvé Adam on how she was going to change the city. The first thing that she did was put a reward for anyone who could give any information to lead to the capture of the 'dangerous vigilantes that roam the streets at night like wild animals', this had made the teams jobs a lot harder. They had been trained by Oliver but weren't masters of hiding in the shadows out of sight not even noticeable to the best of the best.

The speech came on and all eyes were glued on the screen, "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for taking the time tonight to listen to the ways I propose on making the city a safe place for all." Mayor Adams began "In recent weeks there has been an increase in crime rates in the city, I propose two ways to solve this problem, one I have planned to enlist more police officers into the police force and invest $4 million into improving the resources the police department have. Then next solution propose is one that is already under way, however it seems to be at a standstill, I ask any of you out there for information concerning the vigilantes that roam the night streets of our city. On the contrary to what you all think they are not hero's, they are as worse as the criminals they say they strive to bring to justice. If you don't believe me look at the evidence to support this ever since the hood showed up to begin with the city has been plagued with super villains year after year each one ten times worse than the last, we've had the Dark Archer who planned to level the Glades using an earthquake machine, then we had a visit from the League of Assassins, last year we had Deathstroke and his superhuman soldiers. Now we have 'Hive' as they call themselves it's been rumored that other villains and criminals have joined up with them, not only from this city but from Gotham as well with sightings of Scarecrow. No these vigilantes aren't hero's they are the root of the cancer that is spreading throughout the city like wildfire. That is where we as a city should begin to save our city." There was a roar as the crowd applauded and cheered, then the screen behind the Mayor flickered and a figure appeared upon the screen.

The team gasped in shock, the figure was none other than the iconic man in green the Green Arrow, and the group could tell that it was Oliver, but something seemed different, he seemed more cold and emotionless than before. "Look at his right eye" Thea pointed out and they all looked to the eye, the eye it's self was perfectly fine but in the darkness a vibrant scar stood out, it was just visible by the eye as it seemed to miss the eyeball but just mark the skin on either side, it then spiked out of the bottom and top of the mask and ran down to his lip and onto his forehead.

The man who used to be Oliver Queen began to talk, "I am the Green Arrow, and I am here on the behalf of HIVE. I have come to deliver a very important message to the citizens of Star City. You have five hours to surrender the control of the city over to Hive, if these requirements are not met by then them and myself will be forced to take the city by brute force. Your police force will not be able to help you and neither will the vigilantes that still strive to protect this pitiful city. The Green Arrow will certainly not be there to help this time. Make your choice wisely Mayor, you hold in your hands the lives of a whole city along with your own." With that the screen went black and Oliver disappeared.

The group stood in silence bathing in grief, even after surviving all the island had thrown at him and the hell that he had been through when he returned, Oliver Queen was dead...

* * *

 **Hoped you liked it. Please Please review...**

 **RavenLu22...**


	7. Chapter 7- City Chaos

**Here is chapter 7. Sorry it's been such a long wait but I've been focused on finishing another story, along with moc exams and art course work.**

 **I hope the wait will be worth it**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 **City Chaos**

* * *

2 hours later

Diggle, Laurel and Thea were stood in the mayors office, the mayor had just been elected and currently he paced up and down in front of his desk. They had come to an agreements that for as long as it took to insure the city's safety they would not be hunted by the police.

The room was dimmed only a small desk light lit up the room, the young mayor turned to the trio. "I though the green arrow was one of you?" He questioned stopping his pacing and turning to the vigilantes, you could now see his features, he was quite tall his hair was jet black and fell over he forehead sitting just above his eyebrows, is brown eyes shone out against his flawless skin. Mayor Lorton.

"He was, until several months ago." Diggle stated.

"Yes, he disappeared." The mayor recalled.

"It seemed so, we were not around at the time, he was alone and when we came back he was gone. It seemed he was captured during our absence by a collective group of villains that held grudges against him. However now it appears that they have handed him over to HIVE, it seemed they have grouped together to form an army if you will." Diggle explained.

"What do you suggest we do?" Lorton asked.

"One thing is for certain, do not hand them control, we will fight till the end." Laurel replied the group turned to go.

"Wait" Lorton called, "He was so strong, so determined, what happened to him?"

"Let's just say what ever they did to him to turn him into this thing, it was nothing pleasant, it would not be easy to break him that is for sure but they did it."

* * *

Another 2 hours later 

Darhk's hideout just outside Star City

Damian Darhk sat on a large throne like chair in a vast empty room, a smile raised his pale lips. Het was so close, everything was set in place. Any way the night would play out he would have Scarlett City by dawn. It had been four and a half hours since his warrior had made the live broadcast to Scarlett City, the city hadn't surrendered but yet again he did no think they would. It was merely an way to tell them that it was their fault that any battle had broken out, that it could have been so much simpler.

The grand tall doors on the opposing wall of the long room swung open slowly, Darhk raised his head from of off his hand as his key to world domination walked through the door. Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow marched purposely across the room. His hood was lowered, unmasked, his bow glued to his back, this was what he had been taught over the last four months, this look was him being submissive.

It had taken at least two months to fully break him, it took a lot of effort on hi behalf, after they found out that he had been faking it for the first two weeks and those idiots who he had left him with whilst he attended to other business had believed him. Damian was in a way relieved, he knew that for Oliver to bow to him he would have to be the one to break him. And he did.

Now as his warrior neared his throne he knelled, his head was bowed like always.

"Master, you summoned me?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, the time has come. You will finally be allowed free to fight like you were born to do. But I must warn you any act of defiance you will be servilely punished, is that understood?" There was no immediate response, Good he remembers the consequences of his defiance.

"I understand fully master."

"Good, now come." Oliver rose and moved and knelled before the throne, before his master. "Hold out your arm." He commanded and Oliver did so without hesitation. "Hold out your left arm." Damian commanded, Oliver instantly held out his left arm. Damian took the arm in his hand revealing a black metal strap which took up roughly 5cm of his upper wrist. The strap was specially designed, it was of a similar design to a smart watch with one more added feature, it doubled up as a tracker. He could not trust his prize not to run away, after all it was known that the man could survive quite well in the wild. Now however after months of training, the Green Arrow was now tame enough to be let off his leash and Damian trusted that he would come back when he was called. If not he would only recapture his wolf and the process would begin again until there was only his wishes left.

"Oliver I trust that you will come back when I call you."

"Always Master." Oliver raised his head and the two warriors locked eyes.

Damian took a weary breath, he entered a code into the small screen on the strap, there was a small click as the lock came open and the strap came away in his hands. He dug into his suits pockets and pulled out a similar strap, it looked exactly the same.

As he began to manually fasten the strap around Oliver's wrist he explained the difference, " As I said I trust you to come back when called, this proves my trust in you for it does not have tracker, it can also be removed by yourself, in whole in merely serves as a communications device." He finished locking it in place.

"Thank you master, I will not fail you, I will bring you the city you deserve at your feet and soon the whole world."

"Good," he looked to his watch, "It seems the city will not be surrendering, I guess I get to put you to use, gather the men. Take five trucks and launch the attack, but don't do it till the five hours are up."

"Yes master, it will be done." Oliver rose to his feet gave a short bow and left.

* * *

3:45 am

5 minutes till the 5 hours are up.

Location- main road into the city.

The main road into the city was blocked by a large tuck parked in the middle, it rear was facing towards the city. Inside was the Green Arrow readying the men. His voice could be heard over speakers in the other four trucks which were located on other main entrances to the city. "failure tonight will not be acceptable, but death is not the solution, Darhk does not want to be given a city where the citizens are all dead, the goal is simple. Go in target the police and the mayors office, the loss a public lives must be kept at the bear minimum. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." The men chanted together. One man spoke up from the crowd, "Sir what will you be doing?"

Oliver gave a small smile, "I will set off before you. But I shall meet those assigned to the police station there. I have some old friends to deal with." There was a small 'DIND'. "Looks like we can go in."

The green arrow made his way to the doors of the wagon, there his emerald green bike stood waiting, his bow strapped to the handle bars just as they had when he had begun this job. He placed his mask on and donned the hood up before slipping the jet black helmet over his head. Next he climbed onto the vehicle. The door began to lower, the soldiers behind him got onto their bikes. Slowly, the ramp descended, the second it clashed with the ground Oliver went speeding out, accelerating down the deserted road at top speed.

Oliver had left the others in dust, his bike was one of the kind and was built for speed where as there's were not. Before long he had entered the dormant city that was usually bursting with life, now it laid like ghost town. He made his path straight to the police head quarters, he past many buildings which held many memories. Pushing them out he continued on his journey.

The towering building past him in a blur. Sensing looks of scared people on him trough curtained windows he kept his eyes an mind forward. His speed increased as he went into thought. Today everything would end, he was the one to decide the fate of the world. A lot had changed since all those long dire years when. It had all started when he set foot on the Queen's Gambit, that day nothing was ever going to be the same.

Now his enemy had opened his eyes to the truth which he was too blind to see on his quest to rid the city of crime as the 'hood.' Oh, how foolish he had been thinking that he could cure the city. He could not see that the city needed to be destroyed and brought back under a new, strong leader. It was what the world needed. He owed Damian, so now he bowed down to him, Damian had taught him and now was his master.

The bike came to a screeching halt as the bike almost carried on past the road which lead to the Station, he had one chance at this. Even though they were on the opposite side of war, his friends were still important to him, he had to give them a chance but if they would not yield then he would be forced to kill them, at least he would make it a quick clean death if it came down to that.

Catching a glimpse of the station in the distance he slowed, coming to a complete halt just outside the building. Razing the helmet off his head he locked the bike standing with a press of a button. There was a small beep, he pressed the small device in his ear, a voice came through, "Sir the mayor was not at the mayor office, those who were there however were killed or taken prisoner."

"Very good, bring your men down to the police department."

"Yes sir." The officer replied before the connection was cut.

Oliver looked to the building as he removed his bow from the bike, it look as dead as the rest of the city, the lights were off but he knew that there was places inside the building where lights could be on without being seen from the outside, or perhaps the windows had been boarded up. He made his way to the front door, testing it he found that it was unlocked, he drew and arrow from his quiver which hung on his back beside a sword which he had brought along with him. Placing the arrow onto the bow string he silently crept into the building making sure that no noise was made as he did so. If the door was unlocked then that meant that they were ready and waiting. Slowly he hade his way down the dimly lit corridor, the little light bouncing off the polished floor, it was so quite that you could here a pin drop and it did.

His attention fluttered up stairs where he was so sure he had herd the noise, he tracked it without a sound up the stairs which he had to strain to lighten his steps as they began to creek. The warrior made his way to a large room, his head turned as he heard a noise to left, then his head snapped to the right as he heard another. Soon the whole room was clicking with the movement of men in a silent city. The clicking he recognised as the all too familiar sound of guns being set and trained. Soon enough red dot appeared on his jacket much like the time Laurel had tricked him into coming but there was no woman in black to save him now.

Out of the shadows came four silhouettes that were easily recognisable, the black canary, Diggle, speedy and then to Oliver's surprise was Roy in his Arsenal suit. "It does not have to be like this." Laure claimed.

"You don't understand, this is the only way it can be. I should have know that as soon as I came back, the city can not be helped it needs a new start, a new beginning, we all do." Oliver debated.

" That's a lie and you know it is." Thea exposed, "What happened to the man I knew?" She continued, "The one that would stop at nothing to save this city? What happened to that man, Oliver?" Oliver took a scan of the room like an owl. "I doesn't matter that they know your name they found it out a while ago when the green arrow and Oliver Queen went missing at the same time." There was an unearthly silence that filled the room.

"You still didn't answer the question, Oliver what happened to the hero that the city once knew?" Diggle pointed out.

The green arrow sighed, "I've been told long ago that a man can't live by two names. Oliver Queen is dead, "he confirmed knowing that there was no going back from this, not now, not ever. "I am the Green Arrow," He continued, "And I will do anything to rid evil from this world."

"Even if that means that you become the evil yourself?" Roy questioned.

The green arrow faltered for a mere second before replying, "If that is what it takes, then so be it."

"I see, so this is how it will be after all this time." Roy continued, "I gave up my life so that you could carry on being the hero the city so desperately needed, now you want to destroy it! Your right Oliver Queen is dead and so is the Green Arrow that I knew! All I see before me is a monster, a twisted man hell bent on saving the world he loves that he would go so far as to destroy it!" Roy took up a fighting stance so did the rest.

Suddenly there was a ear-piercing crash s men jumped through the window. Within seconds the station had become a war zone. Oliver quickly drew his sword, Thea and Roy used there bows as weapons whilst laurel used her escrima sticks whilst Diggle settle with his fists as a gun would not do the job.

Soon the Green Arrow was struggling to keep up to the attack from four angles, but he got o break through as he sword met flash and a cut appeared on Diggle's upper left arm. Soon Oliver gained his stride and the tables were turning, but he was tiring and he struggled to keep the weight off and the favour on his side. That was until he heard an unmistakable cackle from behind, he swooped a quick glance and found Darhk with a smug grin across his face.

"Do you need help there?" The wizard cracked.

"That would help, Master."

* * *

Laurel jumped in shock, he had not just called that tyrant 'master' had he, surely it must just be a trick of her hearing. There was no way Oliver had become this man, but he had even said so himself that Oliver Queen was dead. Still she couldn't believe that the man she had loved so much was joking with their enemy like they had been friends for life.

* * *

Damian had walked in on a war zone, people were flying dead or injured everywhere, into walls...out of windows. Even with the body of people it hadn't taken long to find his warrior. There waging a four on one battle was Oliver. He smiled, the plan had worked better than he had thought it ever would, now he stood watching the turn in power as his associates took the city. Those that he had got Oliver from had taken a step back, but in return for his perfect den he had promised each some rule in the new world.

But he felt the flicker of light from his wolf, it had been something that his past friends had said to him that were swaying his mind. Even so he fought for him like he had been trained to do. Damian drew in on his power and filled his servant with the power he needed, he watched as Oliver got his second wind and the others didn't know what hit them.

Damian stepping into battle.

* * *

Several hours later

Oliver stood dripping in the rain as it battered down on the earth. His left hand clutched his upper right arm as rain mixed with crimson blood panting his arm red as the scarlet drops dripped of the end of his finger and re-joined with the earth.

His hood was down exposing him to the elements but he didn't have the strength to pull it back over his head, so much had happened in the last two hours. He didn't know where he was, only that he was close to the base in the woods where he had been kept and trained by Darhk. He heard footsteps on the wet grass behind him he turned to an injured Laurel following.

"Oliver, Darhk is dead, you don't have to go, you're free. Please come back to us." Laurel pleaded.

"I'm sorry, " Oliver apologised, "I can not come back."

Laurel watched as her love stood drenched in rain hunched over clutching his wound. The silence hung, till slowly Oliver began to turn back towards the woods, he began to limp forward. She knew that there was no stopping him, he needed time to think.

"Where will you go?" She asked.

"I don't know." he answered.

"When will you be back?" She asked trying to find some answers.

"Don't try to find me." Was his only words as the shadows claimed him.

That was the last time she saw that man.

* * *

In the woods somewhere.

Oliver was near lost, he needed so desperately to rest but the torrential rain would not allow it. He slumbered on. Suddenly there was a beep. He looked down to the strap that was flashing on his wrist, he clicked the answer button, curious.

At the voice he heard he almost gasped, "Oliver?" Damian questioned, his voice hoarse to a mere croak.

"Master?" He winced, his throat dry.

"Return to base Oliver, I'm waiting, we need to readdress the situation."

"Yes, master." Oliver replied, suddenly knowing exactly where he was and finding new life in his step. He marched off to his master.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, there will be another chapter explain what happened in the scene I missed out.**

 **Please Review...**

 **RedRaven22...**


	8. Chapter 8- Fire

**It's been a while since I last updated, but here it is. The last chapter (Maybe)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Fire**

* * *

With a goal, Oliver was able to find the base where Damien said to meet, it was like an instinct, like a pidgin finding it's way back home. When he arrived the rain was still bounding down, it had turned the lush forest into a muddied bog. The bottom half of his pants were brown instead of the intended green, where as the rest was spotlessly clean due to the rain.

The building stood silent, as the wind howled through the trees. It was dark, there was only a small glow of light through one of the cracked glass windows. Although the building was new it was made to look old and derelict, a new build would attract too much attention even this far out of the city. Slowly he limped over to the old door, and carefully opened it, it creaked as it did so.

When he advanced inside the attire was the polar opposite to the image given on the outside. In here the building was plunged into the modern era. The walls were crisp and clear, the décor expensive, nothing but the best, that much was clear even in the little light that crawled it's way up the walls from the end of the corridor where it was at it's brightest. He followed the soft light, like a moth to a flame.

He carried on limping till the shadows had retreated from his sight, the corridor ended in a large room, a warm, inviting fire beckoned him forward, closer to the chair which rested beside it. Oliver could feel the essence of magic floating in the air, binding with the oxygen that he inhaled.

His breathing was staggered, the wound on his leg had die down to a dull throb, as had the wound on his right arm, but he was tired and hungry after the long fight, the cold and rain had gotten under his skin. It pulled him down like gravity, it made him weaker and weaker.

He knelt by the side of the chair, he knelt to his master, but he also could no longer find the strength to fight. His head was bowed, his eye's pulled closed by the need of rest, but he would wait, he would wait till his master ordered him to move. The silence stretched, the crackling of the fire echoed round the room as planks of wood transformed into mere fragments of ash.

A new sound joined the crackling of the fire, 'Drip', 'Drip', 'Drip', he painfully dragged his eyes open, it took him precious seconds to pinpoint the source of the sound though blurred eyes. Three drops of scarlet tears laid side by side on the wooden floor, it was joined by a fourth, then another after another, after another. Till a micro sea of ruby red blood formed on the oak planks.

"You fought well." The voice of his master pulled him from his thoughts, he lifted his head, just slightly, just enough to let Darhk know that he had heard. However his energy was all but sapped dry and his head unwillingly drooped down again.

"You are tired?" Damien acknowledged, more of a statement than a question, the answer was obvious.

"Yes...master..." Oliver whispered, his voice hoarse and dry, the only thing he could muster through his chafed throat.

"You're wounded." This time Oliver did not reply, he had no strength to speak. Damien let it go, knowing what the fight had taken out of Oliver. The boy had fought bravely for him, had pushed himself to the edge, but he had know when to retreat. That was what Damien wanted in his precious warrior, he wanted him strong, brave and ready to fight till the end for goals that he knew were achievable, but then on the other hand he wanted someone who knew when to retreat when the goal was unachievable, to wait until a better time presented itself. That's exactly what he had here with Oliver, as a warrior Oliver was perfect. He would give everything in order to achieve his goals, but was not foolish enough to risk it all in pursuit of a goal that couldn't be achieved, well not yet anyway.

"You have done well today. The time is almost upon us. Very soon the city will be our or will be rubble." Damien explained. "They fell for it." A cruel smile played across the bitter man's face. "In time I shall rise from the dead, as you will return from the shadows. We will take this broken world and we will mend it under our own rule, I will raise a new world from the ashes with you by myside." Oliver still didn't reply or even show that he had heard his master's words, his head sagging even more till his chin brushed up against his suit. Rain water dripped off his hair and into the pool of blood that formed from his wounds and stretched with the flow of the runny water.

"But I see you're tired. You must go and rest, heal your wounds. There is still time before the games begin." Oliver remained still for several moments longer as he gathered his strength, then slowly but surly he rose.

"Yes master." He muttered before turning and leaving the room.

* * *

Back at the secret hide out of the night time vigilantes, the five that remained stood around one of Felicity's state of the at computers. On the screen there was a digital map of the city, every few seconds it would zoom in on a small section a smaller square would dart around the screen, then once finished the screen would go slightly red. It had been dong this for hours, searching, searching for one man. Oliver Queen.

It had finished searching the city, now it was moving onto the forests beyond the city. It had just hovered over what used to be Queen's manor, now abandoned and derelict, an empty shell of a past life. Instead of using the cameras and facial recognition to search the city, inch by inch in the split of a second, it changed to thermal cameras to search the forest. Many specks of heat appeared on the screen, but all were too small, or too large, to be him.

"Where is he?" Felicity mumbled, she slid across the polished floor darting from screen to screen, checking each one for the sign of the man she loved. Spinning round she addressed laurel, "Did you say he was injured when you left him?"

"Yes, it seemed that he had a wound on his upper right arm, he had a limp- his right leg I believe." She answered.

"He couldn't have gotten far." Diggle reasoned.

"Exactly" Felicity agreed spinning back around. "Where was this?" She asked.

"A mile or so out of the city on the south road." Laurel answered. Felicity typed in the co-ordinates and the map flew to the location, they zoomed in on the live footage, there by the road side was Oliver's bike. Switching to thermal she set the computer of searching. With a heavy sigh Felicity lent back into her chair her arms crossed. "Well all we have to do is wait."

They didn't have to wait long wait for long, for mere seconds later the screens was alive with specks of life just the right size for a human, there were maybe fifty or so. They all seemed to be circling something, they paced back and forth like wild animals behind bars. Each had a gun. There was one man sat by himself, another laid not far away by himself, the rest were in pairs or groups of three or more.

Pulled by natural curiosity Felicity's fingers leapt to the keyboard and swiftly danced across the key in a fluid motion, never once did she take her eyes of the screen.

"What are you doing?" Roy inquired.

Felicity still didn't unlock her gaze with the computer screen, " Well last time I check there wasn't a building here last time." The team lent forward at her words as they studied the map that Felicity brought up. "By the looks of these photos, the building appears to be old, but there's no building registered to fit it. It looks as if it's just been built and given the aged look to stop unwanted attraction."

"You may be correct. Could Oliver be there?" Diggle asked.

"It's highly likely. By the routine and the uniforms worn by the men guarding the building," the screen zoomed in on one of the men, "I would bet that this is one of hive's hide outs."

"But isn't Darhk dead?" Thea asked, as she walked up the small set of stair tow ere the rest of the group were.

"Yes, well last time I checked he was, but Oliver is alive. It may well be that he has taken over hive, he was quite close to Damien." Felicity stated but stopped after she realised what she had just said. Oliver and Darhk had bonded, they had formed a strong Master and Apprentice, well that was what she assumed the bond was between.

She could not fandom what Oliver had been through, what must have snapped in his mind so that the man, he had been hunting and prowling the city for at night, to suddenly become his friend, a man that he trusted. Yet again Oliver had changed so much that she didn't know what he would do next. She could remember last year when they had fought Ra's, Oliver had been broken then, but not as bad as this, then he had been acting, even if it had been a damn good act. Now she had seen it is his blue eyes, that night and the times when he had appeared on TV, he was truly broken. This time she did not know if he would return.

Roy had already shouldered his quiver and his bow in hand. "Where are you going?" Diggle asked.

"There, if he is there we need to stop him."

"We've got to plan first. He's wounded, he will probably lash out." Diggle tried to reason.

"Exactly that's why we should go now."

"He'll only lash out. He may be wounded but that will make him more dangerous." But Roy was still heading to the door, "He'll kill you." Finally Roy stopped and turned back round. "He's too strong, he will fight the pain, he always has, but I remember his mother telling me that the night that he returned she had found him on his bedroom floor, the window wide open, Oliver was drowning in rain, as his mind sank beneath the waves of nightmares. When she tried to wake him, he started, he almost killed her. Even though it was just an instinct, he was still deadly. He still is, and we can not afford to loose you."

"Fine, I'll stay, but only if you promise that we will make a plan."

"Agreed." The rest said.

* * *

5 days later

The night was still, the sky bare of clouds allowing a few stars to shine through the light pollution the city gave off. Oliver sat in the shadows, out of sight of those he was watching. Darhk had told him to keep an eye on the band of troublesome vigilantes, so that was what he was doing now. He watched as they worked together to bring down a group of HIVE soldiers which had been expertly placed here as bait, a bait that they had taken so easily and without question. The Green Arrow needed to watch and observe them so that he was ready for their next encounter, he noticed that their fighting style was almost the same, but their tactics were where things had changed.

It was the way that they coped with losing Oliver, it had been a big blow to the team losing their leader, he was the one who came up with the plans and took the lead on a mission, he was the reason for their crusade. Now they had had to regroup and build their own tactics, in the face of an uncertain future.. They became more tactical, with Oliver they couldn't just go straight in like they used to, they now had to get inside, work from the inside out for one mission, it took a lot of work. But Oliver had found the ties that they had within HIVE, and he had pulled on them, got them to do exactly what he wanted them to do, like a puppet on a string.

That was how he had drawn them here, right where he could watch and observe them. They didn't even know he was here lurking in the shadows, watching like a wolf in the darkness. Stalking his prey in the night. Oliver made sure that he was never seen, that not even whisper of him being in the city could be spread around like wild fire. It had taken them only a few minutes to take down the five guards that were located outside the fake hideout, they swiftly made their way silently forward and inside the building.

The building had been specially chosen, it had high hallways with platforms where he could easily hide and watch them as they made their way through the building towards their goal. Oliver followed in the path of the shadows. Very soon thy came to the heart of the building, there stood a large computer system, with a number of screens mounted up on the wall opposite to the entrance, the only entrance. They went straight to the main computer, he could hear Diggle talking into his earpiece, "We've got it, what do we do now?" There was a moment silence, then Diggle spoke again, "Where?" He asked confused.

Oliver almost laughed, he could picture Felicity back at the hide out sighing as she tried to explain to Diggle where the USB port on the machine was recording to her data base. Somewhere deep in his mind he missed these times, just having a laugh with his mates, but those times were in the past, a new future was coming. They wouldn't understand it, that was why they were on the opposite side of this secret war, he knew he should hate them, he had. That was until the other night when he had fought them.

"Download complete." Diggle stated, pulling the USB stick from the machine.

"Good." Roy whispered, "We can get out of here, I feel like we are being watched."

"I feel it too." Thea agreed. Suddenly all four were on edge now, their eyes darting around the room. Oliver slunk back into the shadows concealing himself in the darkness.

"Come on, let's get out of here whilst we can. I'm sure back up will be arriving shortly." Laurel said, her eyes still wandering around the room. For a moment their eyes seemed to lock onto each other, Oliver almost feared that he had been spotted, but her gaze shifted and the four left the building.

A few moments later once he was sure that they were gone he contacted Damien.

"They got it Master."

 _"_ _Ah, the time is coming. Tomorrow we shall take the final step."_ Damien mused.

"Yes master." Oliver replied before leaping off out of the shadows.

* * *

At the Arrowcave: The next day, 10:38pm

"This isn't good" Felicity declared, worry filling her voice as she spoke.

"What isn't good, Felicity?" Roy asked as he made his way up the small set of stairs onto the raised round platform to stand beside her. They were the only two down here, the rest were out with family and friends.

"It's worse than we feared Roy, Darhk plans to blow up Star City..." With another few clicks of the mouse she slid back an inch or two, her eyes wide. "...no not just the city, the whole world." She rolled forward. "He has every code to set off every nuclear missile in the world."

"Can't you disarm them?"

"No these are just plans, it's nothing that I can hack into and change. " Silence hung like dead meat for several seconds as realisation came across Felicity. "We were set up." She concluded.

"What?" Roy questioned.

"They wanted us to find these plans. They new that there was nothing I could do with just the plans. They knew how long it would take me to decrypt it, there's nothing we can do."

"Can't we contact the government, get them to disarm the missiles?" Felicity simply shook her head sadly. "Why not?"

Felicity sighed, "Because, Roy, they are set to be launched at midnight tonight."

There was silence for a few moments, "But I thought Damien wanted to raise a new era?"

"He does and he will. He has built a specialised facility deep under ground which will be safe from the bombing."

"Where is it?" Roy asked urgently.

"I don't know." Felicity muttered.

Roy took a step back, "I'm going to contact the team whilst you contact the government. There's got to be something that can be done." He pulled a phone from his pocket and left.

* * *

Oliver stood on a window ledge high above the city. It was hard to imagine that in a few hours time this city would be reduced to nothing more than ash, rubble and fire. Along with the rest of the world, that would burn in the fires of hell also. This was the world that had brought so much pain to him into his life, the five years on the Island, losing his father, Tommy and of course his mother at the hands of Slade Wilson, his fists clenched. That man should be rotting away in his cell back on Lian Yu, but fate had been cruel to him once again and Slade was free and causing pain to some poor soul out there but it made a change for it not to be his soul being tortured. Or was it.

He spotted an open window on the wall of glass and silently slipped inside the building. Instantly he was attacked by a fury of emotions, as he looked around the loft that he and Felicity had called home once they had returned to Star City after their failed attempt at a normal life. He looked over to the table by the fire place, the painful memory of finding Thea there, tabbed through the stomach by Ra's al ghul's sword, left teetering on the edge of death. But there had also been happy times spent I this room, for instant the many nights that he had spent with Felicity lounging lazily on the sofa, a glass of whine in hand, just enjoying the company of each other. Once this night was over she would be dead, so would Laurel, Diggle, Roy... Thea, anger flourished inside him at the thought, he could not let his sister die, she was the only family he had left, he had let both his parents down, been the cause of their deaths in the long run, he would not be the cause of hers. He would not let her down, he would not let his friends down.

The emotions he had been taught in the last 2 months to burry and forget about were resurfacing, his thought were drawn back to something new, to his son, William. There was no way in hell that he was going to let his son die. He looked to his watch, 11pm, he had one hour to save them all.

So with a new purpose and goal he set out. He raced through the night streets of the city, he picked up a few police cars on his way, of course since the incident at the station the police had marked him as a criminal, Oliver pleaded guilty. With a few unexpected turns and some shortcuts he lost them and was safely out of the city by 11:20pm.

Picking up speed he made his way quickly down the road that led to the location where the main computer was located, hopefully he could come up with a way to shut it down. If not there was always a back up, but the first was more preferable to him. When his bike came to a halt outside the building he noticed that the building was empty and abandoned, it was no surprise to him, all those who worked there were probably back at the safe zone far underground. So he simply unpicked the lock and stepped inside.

There were no hidden traps or security systems, the world was completely unaware of the impending danger, and those that had been allowed to do so were not given the location of the computer or how to disarm it.

Oliver came to the room which was brightly lit by computer screens which lit up the walls. In the centre was a lone computer. He rushed up to it, dropping his arrow on the floor. He came up to it, on the screen was a password input, he typed in the password 'NORA', even being as evil as he was Damien was still human, and he used his daughters name for the password.

The four dots in the box disappeared, just when Oliver thought that he wasn't going to get in, the screen suddenly changed and he was allowed access into the files. He typed in, "Disarm" into the drive, it came up with a file, he clicked it. His hopes dimmed as he read the file;

 _In the event that this program is to be stopped, there is no computerised way of shutting it down._

 _Instead their self destruct feature, this can only be activated by a high ranking member of HIVE, and must be done manually at the main computer._

 _If you wish to stop the program type your name into the box below and look directly into the camera above._

Oliver inwardly cursed. This was inevitable now, this program had to be stopped. He typed in his name and looked directly into the camera, it took a scan of his eye. The screen lit up green, _Authentication complete_

A small square section of the desk slid away and a red button raised itself up from the table.

 _Press the button to self destruct._

He looked to the clock, 11:47pm. He just had time. He picked up his phone that he had picked up from the loft, and dialled Felicity's contact, to Oliver's relief it went to voice mail. Several moments later he finished the voicemail and set it so that it would arrive at Felicity's phone at, 12:45am.

It was now 11:54pm, he took his HIVE phone from his pocket and dialled the same number in, he input the location of Damien's safe town and pressed send. He hoped that they would be able to reach him before Damien caught wind of he was doing. He placed the phone down on the desk. With both hands on the desk, his posture lent over slightly he stood for a few moments, eyes closed, in total peace. Then he could wait no longer as the clock counted down, 10, 9, 8, 7..."I'm sorry Felicity"...6, 5, 4... "Please forgive me"...3, 2, 1. _'_ _I love you'_ was his final thought as a single tear fell down his face, before he was engulfed in the flames of hell.

* * *

With Felicity.

It was 12:01 pm, nothing had happened, the group stood in a deadly silence, they waited for the end to come, but it didn't. There was no sign that any missile in the world had been launched. A sudden chime of Felicity's phone caused the silence to be crudely cut and caused the group, who were on edge, to jump in fright.

Felicity grabbed her phone quickly switching it on, her eyes didn't leave the small screen as the group looked to her in wonder, Thea, Roy, Laurel, Captain Lance, Diggle, his wife and child Sara and Felicity's mum were all crowded in the room insisting that if they were going to die it would happen together in the small family that they had built together since Oliver had left.

"What is it sweetheart?" Donna asked her daughter.

"Erm..." Felicity stuttered, her head turning slightly to the side causing her pony tail to swoosh from side, "I've just got a message from an unknown person." She stated which was unusual because she didn't tend to get any at all.

"What does it say?" Inquired Diggle.

"It says 'The location of Damien Darhk, and the Ark'," Felicity quoted.

"That's the name of that safe town Damien has built under ground somewhere, right?" Roy reminded.

"Yeah, it gives us the co-ordinates." Felicity stated slightly fazed, but she typed the co-ordinates into her computer, it came up with a small section of road just outside of the city, there was a sewage entrance but according to the city plans there wasn't meant to be one there. "That's the entrance."

Lyla was already on her phone, "I'll get the armed forces down there. Felicity find a way to seal the exit so they can't get out. Captain Lance, can you get the police units there, it will take longer for my men to get there than it will take yours" She said as she left the hideout to make the call to the government.

"Yeah...yeah sure." Lance said, rubbing his hand to the back of his neck.

"Be safe honey." Donna said to her love giving him a kiss on the cheek before he turned to leave.

Just before he left he turned to the three vigilantes, "I'll give my men the order not to shoot you four, I'm sure that once we get in there you'll be needed." He gave them a smile before he turned and left.

"I guess we better get going." Laurel stated.

"Do you think Oliver is going to be there?" Thea asked.

"Defiantly, he was Damien's right had man." Roy responded , "but he's with Damien so he'll get the same fate. He's the one that will put up a fight, that's why the police will want us there, they can not fight Oliver."

"Be careful." Felicity insisted.

* * *

Damien was angry, Oliver hadn't shown up, now it seemed that the missiles wouldn't launch. He had demanded one of his men to get the name of who had deactivated the computer.

"Sir, I have identified him." Damien stopped his pacing and turned to look at the large screen mounted on the wall, there on the screen was the box where whoever had deactivated it had put their name. Darhk almost tore off the man's head when he read who it was, in the box was two words, _"_ _Oliver Queen"_

"So it seems that I didn't break him completely after all" He mused.

* * *

It took time but the police and the armed forces managed to clear the underground ark, Damien was escorted from the entrance.

"Where is he?" Laurel demanded.

"Who Oliver?" Darhk asked as if he had clue in the matter.

"Well he wasn't here, and we presume you know where he is." Thea snapped.

"Why so you can arrest him?"

"If that is what is needed to be done then so be it." Roy answered.

"You should be thanking him, not locking hunting him down."

"What do you mean, we should be thanking him?" Diggle asked confused, but Damien had already been locked into the van. They came to the conclusion that they weren't going to get any answers, so headed back to the hideout.

By the time that they had all regrouped at the hideout it was already pushing quarter to one in the morning.

"No Oliver?" Felicity asked as they came back.

"Nope." Diggle confirmed.

"What did Damien have to say?" Donna had to asked, even though all of them except from the four were wondering also.

"He said that we should be thanking Oliver not hunting him down." Laurel quoted.

"That makes no-" Lance was cut off by Felicity's phone ringing. When Felicity picked it up she feared that she would drop.

"What is it?" Thea inquired, but Felicity did not answer.

"Felicity?" Donna questioned.

"It's a voice mail." She answered simply.

"Of who?" Laurel asked.

"Oliver." She whispered. The room hung dry in silence all of them too shocked to speak.

Roy was the one to break the silence. "Put it on Voicemail." He requested and Felicity did.

 _"_ _If you are listening to this then you should know that I am dead."_ His harsh and blunt words cut through the silence like a blunt rusted knife leaving wounds on those who heard it.

" _I want you to know that I am deeply sorry for the pain I may have caused you in these last few months. Now I realise where I was wrong, they managed to break and I turned against my friends. That is something that I can never forgive myself for, and I do not expect you to forgive me. Twice now I have broken your trust, but I hope that in time you will come to forgive me._

 _You are the ones that pulled me back from the darkness and have done so time and time again when most would have declared me lost to the void forever. It's all over now, I hope, thanks to the co-ordinates I sent you, Damien should be on his way to a high security facility. I do ask that you destroy a ancient artefact at the hideout just outside of star City, the one you discovered, I ask this because that is what gives Darhk his powers._

 _My time has come, Felicity I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me. I love you._

The voice mail ended and several in the room gasped as Felicity's eyes filled with tears.

* * *

3 days later

The rain battered down, the green grass reduced to mud. It was mid day, though it looked more like midnight. The graveyard in which they were stood was gloomy to match the emotions of those that stood, dressed in black, by the newly dug grave, they had buried an empty coffin, again. Lightning cracked in the distance, the fitting way to say good by to the man that took the world by storm.

They had been to the location where an explosion was reported by there had been no trace of Oliver, only a building reduced to ash. Now people began to file out of the black sea, back indoors away from the cold rain that fell like needles on the skin. The only ones left were those it started with, Felicity and Diggle.

Dried tear tracks marked her flawless skin as the tears had ran till the well that they had come from had all but dried up. These two people were the only two in the world that had come close enough to understanding the demon inside Queen, what the five years on Lian Yu had turned the billionaire playboy into. Still they had not even come close to seeing the whole truth, a truth that they were never to know.

Finally Oliver Queen could lay in rest, away from the nightmares that had plagued his life.

Eventually the two turned their backs and retreated back to the safety of the indoors as the storm grew wilder and wilder.

The lighting crackled above the grave, the wind began to surge faster and faster, the rain fell heavier and heavier.

 _Oliver Queen_

 _1985-2016_

 _A beloved friend._

The flowers parted...

 _A hero to Star City and the World._

 _The Green Arrow_

* * *

From the shadows a hooded figure watched as people dressed in black retreated away from the grave. Damien Darhk was locked away awaiting the ultimate punishment, all seemed peaceful in the wake of the storm, but there was still those out there who sought to bring pain and suffering to the world.

The shadow turned his back on the past, there was still a world to be saved.

He would be it's protector, even after death. It's guardian in a demons skin.

Forever known as the Arrow...

* * *

 _I AM NOT PERFECT. I AM SOMETIMES SELFISH._

 _OCCASIONALLY SELF DESTRUCTIVE. AND PRONE TO_

 _VERY BRIEF , YET SEVERE, SPELLS OF SADNESS. BUT I_

 _WOULD FIGHT UNTIL VERY BONE IN MY BODY WAS_

 _BROKEN TO PROTECT YOU. THAT'S A PROMISE._

* * *

 **Yes it's a lot in one chapter.**

 **This could be the last chapter, but I am still indecisive. So please comment to say if you would like another chapter to find out what happened.**

 **PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW**

 **RedRaven22...**


	9. Chapter 9- Shadows

**Those that did review asked for another chapter to explain what happened, so here it is. THE LAST CHAPTER.**

 **PLASE REVIEW.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 **Shadows**

* * *

 _YOU'VE SEEN MY DESCENT_

 _NOW WATCH MY RISING._

* * *

It had only been days since Oliver's death, and a week since his dead. The team were just going on their first major mission after nights of just patrolling the city , the crime in Star City had been dormant since the arrest of Damien Darhk, but they were not foolish enough not to realise that it was only a matter of time before it erupted again, and time was running out. Darhk may be locked away in a high security prison, but there was still those out there who had first captured Oliver. Slade, Ra's, Vertigo and Crane, all of them had failed to break him so had handed him over to Damien who had turned him into a monster, now they were loose somewhere.

Felicity had spent the last few days tracing small little leads that had come up in the criminal underworld, she had successfully managed to track them back to Vertigo who seemed to be working in a partnership with Crane. It was rumoured that they were near to completing a new even more addictive and dangerous drug, said to cause pleasant hallucination's of your deepest desires, but the downside was the pain when off the drug, enough to bring them back time and time again, just to stop the pain. Of course it was in their nature so they had planned an attack on the location where it was rumoured the factory was.

It was a full moon and the sky was deprived of clouds, the cold winter night air bit at their faces, "Felicity, were outside." Laurel informed her through her earpiece, as her and the others snuck behind a create and looked over to the warehouse by the harbour. A few minutes later their was a crackle of energy as the power in the old warehouse flared then died submerging the building into darkness. The four began their way in, silently. Roy brought up the tail, but he seemed on edge as his eyes searched every inch of the shadows, but they carried on.

Advancing deeper and deeper into the compound they took out each guard that stood in their way, it was slow work for there seemed to be a never ending supply, however the raging river of men died down to a drip which stopped as they came to where their targets were located. They were in the main room of the factory, the room where the drugs were being manufactured and packaged, Vertigo and Crane sat in a small office to the side, to their surprise they seemed to accept that they were beaten.

Laurel and Diggle stood in the doorway, Diggle had his gun aimed at the men, ready and willing to shoot if one made the wrong move. "You're surrounded." He rumbled.

"We can see that, what an excellent job you and your little birdy have done" Count laughed, Crane did too. Laurel had to refrain from rolling her eyes, they were both nutters, as mental as each other, a perfect match.

Whilst they restrained the two for the police Roy and Thea were out in the main room keeping guard. Thea had an arrow placed in her bow, the bow however was not drawn and she held it by her side, on the other hand Roy's bow string was pulled tight, his arrow darting from point of point as it followed his line of view.

"We're being watched." He whispered, the worry in his voice plain and clear.

"What?" Questioned Thea, he had been like this since they had began their night time routines, he always seemed on edge, she had noticed how he was always watched the shadows as if he expected them to get up and dance. Tonight was the first night he had said what was wrong. She scanned the shadows that hung in the corners of the rooms, and up on the poles that ran from wall to wall bellow the triangular roof of the complex, indeed when you looked you couldn't help but feel as if you were being watched, their was so many places for one to hide. "I'm sure it's nothing." She tried reassuring him.

"Maybe, but I swear someone is watching us." He explained.

"There isn't anything." She declared, Laurel and Diggle were just exiting the office. "Come on lets go."

Diggle seemed to sense that Roy was feeling that something was off, "What's wrong?" He questioned.

Roy's gaze still didn't leave the shadows, "I feel as if we are being watched." Suddenly sirens could be heard off in the distance, they looked to the direction it had come from, but Roy was still focused on one shadow. The cars drew closer and closer,

"Maybe, but I don't want to stay around to find out who it is." Laurel said as she began to walk too one of the exits, Diggle and Thea followed instantly where as Roy was more hesitant, but soon caught them up.

A few minutes later they were far enough away from the police, their pace began to slow. They found that they had entered a shipping yard, and were waling down a narrow path with shipping containers up either side, three containers high, placed like steps. Thea and Diggle were at the front walking side by side, Thea was behind then Roy bringing up the rear.

Then Roy stopped, pun around drawing a arrow as he did so. "It's still watching us."

Laurel was about to protest when footsteps clambering over the metal containers could be heard, "Maybe your right, there is something watching us." In an instant all their weapons were drawn, aimed at the direction the footsteps came from.

"Show yourself!" Thea boomed. Silence hung for a few moments, tension escalated till suddenly a figure dashed out from the shadows, leaping over the gap between the containers that they were walking down. On instinct the group split, Roy had already climbed the container and was in hot of pursuit of the mysterious figure, they began the chase. Racing through the maze of containers with unhuman like reflexes and agility, one movement from the corner of their eye for a split second put them back on target, they herded it like a group of wolves hunting their prey, deadly and efficient.

Felicity had been task to tracking the shadows heat signature, using an outer space satellite she observed the hunt. _"_ _You've surrounded them."_ She announced over the coms, giving them each the direction of the person from their current location. They closed in.

* * *

Roy had an arrow trained on the figure that had been stalking them for the last few nights, Thea had blocked off it's immediate route off, and when it had turned to go back it had found him waiting, so it had tried going left but had found Diggle, then found the right exit blocked off by Laurel. He, for by looking it the figure now you could clearly see that it was male, stood in a small area deprived of large containers, blocked off by more containers and them. The man was hooded, he looked strong and most capable of inflicting serious damage to his opponent. In his right hand has his bow, a quiver of arrows strapped to his back. The light from a nearby street lamp showed his sui to be a dark green, he jacket sleeveless. Much like...

Roy pushed the thought from his mind, "Who are you?" He demanded instead.

The hooded man turned to look at him.

"Who are you?" Roy repeated but still got no response, _there was no way in hell that this could be him, he was dead._

"Lower your hood!" He barked.

* * *

Felicity watch the scene play out through a small camera installed into the masks of each of her team mates. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, her eyes glued to the monitor. This could not be happening, she was so sure that this time he had actually died. Hoped that he had.

Not only where there going to be issues, there was bound to be, but the public would no longer see the Green Arrow as a hero, but they would se him as a monster, he would be hunted day and night by the police. Even through how much she loves him, she could not she him with that life, she would wish him dead before wishing that life upon him.

She took a deep breath as the man reached for his hood.

* * *

Slowly the green leather hood slid down the back of the man's head, his face could not be seen, but as the hood rested in place the man looked up.

His face was slim and pale, his eyes wide, showing the blue their blue colour, their hair... blonde.

 _This was no Oliver Queen._

* * *

Deep in forest surrounding Star City, four men watched a computer screen they were glued to it, it sapped their whole attention as the scene at the docks unfolded. They laughed at the faces of the four vigilantes, they were in utter shock.

They had expected the dead man, _Queen,_ but they all knew that dead men could not run through shipping container yards. The four had expertly set up this little, meeting, they had needed intel on the four. Rumors had told that they had changed tactics, but they needed to know exactly how much they had changed.

When Oliver had been in the team they were predictable, Slade had after all trained him, taught him everything he needed to know, but a long with moths of watching Queen as the vigilante, they had a rough idea of the methods, and that the plans had always come from Oliver, as they deemed Oliver the most experienced when it came to cheating death.

Now Oliver was gone, they had worked out that the team had all put their own styles into the plans, which made them unpredictable, they had Diggle who came from the armed forces, Roy who was street wise, Thea who was trained in the ways of an assassin, and Laurel who knew the tactics of the police.

That's why this had all been set up, every detailed planned.

* * *

"Who are you?" Laurel asked.

The man turned to her, "My name is Sebastian Night." He answered.

"Why were you stalking us?" Thea inquired.

"I was observing you." Sebastian answered.

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sebastian smiled.

"No not really," Diggle snapped, his gun drawn out before him.

Sebastian had his hands up in a surrendering actioned, "Why, I want to join you of course."

"Join us?" Roy quoted.

"Yes," He confirmed, "It appears to me that you are a man down," looking to the floor he continued, "tragic really, I guess all those years on that island finally got to him."

Thea had an arrow drawn in a second, "What is that meant to mean?" She hissed.

"I mean, how many times had he cheated death, once? Twice? I believe that it is many more than that, many more than the ones that you know about. I mean it's got to take i's toll on someone."

"He was strong, stronger than most of us in fact." Laurel argued.

"Not strong enough apparently." Sebastien parried.

"Enough of this." Roy declared stepping forward, "You want to join us? Good, we need the help, but mark my words if you so much as say another thing about Oliver you will regret it." Roy snapped, feeling defensive of Oliver's reputation, they didn't know hat he was the ne who gave up his life so that they could all live. "Is that clear?"

"Crystal." He replied, saluting to Roy, a smile wide across his face.

* * *

It took a few weeks but soon Sebastian had been trained, although I seemed that he was already very accomplished in the art of fighting. The team felt whole and complete, Diggle had taken up the role that Oliver used to do whilst Roy took up Diggle's and Sebastian took up Roy's. Sebastian had no alter ego in the world, when you looked him up on the database it was like he didn't exist, although it was suspicious it also came in handy, for Sebastian could be out fighting whilst the rest were going about their day time life.

Slowly they were working their way through the complex networks of criminal organisations, everything was going to plan till one night...

The wind frosty wind bit at their faces as it winded it's way through desolate buildings and wastelands, howling to the night as it did so. Clouds had gathered in the vast dark sky threatening to rain given the chance.

The group had gathered at an old warehouse deep in the glades, from this warehouse there was access to the vast underground networks that ran under the city. This was where the group that they were currently tracking headquarters were, supposedly. Currently they were grouped behind a large crate, out of sight of their target. Diggle had just run through the plan, Felicity helping with key details such as which corridors each person was to travel down and who with, she told them how many men were inside and armed, right now there was 30, but with the access that the building it could easily triple within a short space of time.

Outside heir was two guards who had 15 minute rotations, their aim was to get in whilst the guards guarded another part. So they waited patiently in utter silence. Eventually they found their opening, and as silent as a lion hunting its prey they crept into the building totally undetected.

Once inside they were faced by three corridors, Laurel and Diggle took the left corridor, Thea and Roy took the right and Sebastian took the middle. They set out in search for their prize. The prize being a detailed databank of information on the organisations plans for the future, with the information the group would be able to bring them down easily.

Roy finished landing a blow to one man's head, sending him limply to the ground, after quickly hiding the unconscious man in a small room he quickly caught up with Thea following the trail of men that she left in her wake.

"Do yo think that they will be here?" Roy questioned her.

He was rewarded by a confused look, "Who?" She inquired.

"Slade, Ra's...you know." He explained.

"I very much doubt it." She confessed.

"Why not?"

"Ra's has the League of Assassins took run-"

"I thought Malcom was the leader now." Roy interrupted.

"Was." Thea stated, "Once the League found out that Ra's was still alive they joined him and took control back off of my father."

"I see, what happened to him?"

"I don't know, he just disappeared, I guess he's ever gone into hiding or he is dead." She said bluntly not a hint of emotion on her face. Roy sighed, every since Oliver's death she had been less expressive of her feelings, although she would still laugh, and get extremely angry at times, but she never showed what she truly felt, what Roy could see was breaking her down inside, but he had stopped asking when she had almost taken his head off with her sword.

"Found it!" She declared as they entered a large room, there was several computer screens up on the walls, the main computer was however on the ground sitting on a large desk surrounded by mountains of paperwork.

It seemed that the others had heard her over the coms for they had stated that they were coming, Roy had only replied, "Follow the path of carnage." Which had caused a few giggles to come over his earpiece.

Thea had inserted a USB stick and was now in the process of downloading the information, Roy looked to the screen, _'_ _9%, 4 minutes remaining.'_ Suddenly Roy seemed to be feeling impatient, he hated been in one place and as he observed the room that they were in he felt vulnerable and trapped. He knew how quickly things could change, and things seemed to be going to easy.

A few minutes later Diggle and Laurel came rushing into the room, Roy took another glance at the screen, _'_ _97%, 30 seconds remaining.'_ He felt even more tense now, he didn't realise that he was pacing. Their was a 'Ping' almost making him jump in fear for he was too deep in his thoughts. Thea removed the USB stick from the computer.

"We should go." He suggested.

It seemed that the other's ad cottoned onto his feelings, "Yeah this place is making me feel uneasy."

They were just nearing the door when Laurel spoke, "Where's Sebastian?"

Roy's mind raced before finally clicking, "RUN!" He bellowed, suddenly realising their mistake. He was a foot away from the door when a metal plate slid down from above locking into place. Instinctively he turned and searched the room inch by inch, their was only one other way out. They made a break for a door located on the opposite side of the room. As they reached the halfway mark the door opened causing them to skid to a halt.

In strode the four, Slade, Ra's, Vertigo and Crane, then trailing behind them Sebastian, followed by a squad of troops. Thea lunged for ward, "Sebastian!" She cried, even though it had only been a few weeks Thea had grown quite close to the new figure, Roy had to retrain her.

"You should not be crying for him, young one. You should be shouting at him at least, for he is the reason that yo are trapped now." Ra's revealed, an evil smirk painted across his face.

Thea looked to Roy. He gave her a small smile trying to calm her, and once it seemed that she wouldn't attack for any reason he let her go.

"What do you want?" Diggle questioned.

"Well we can't have you running a mock and destroying our plans, now can we?" Slade commented.

"So you're going to kill us?" Laurel inquired.

"Not just yet, but in time yes." Ra's confessed.

"Why not kill us now and have it over and done with?" Thea inquired.

"Because it wouldn't be any fun." Vertigo and Crane laughed at the same time. They could see Ra's role his eyes at the two idiots who he was stuck working with.

He turned to his men, "Bind them." He ordered. Before the group could protest a great number of the men that had entered approached them as they immediately drew back. They put up a fight but soon they found themselves on their knees, bound and unarmed as their weapons were carried off into the sea of black clothed men.

Ra's stepped towards them, his sword in hand, "but one of you will die tonight-"

Like lightning an arrow flew from the shadows piercing Ra's right arm causing the Assassin to lose his hold on the sword as it clattered to the ground. Their was deadly silence in the room as all eyes were drawn to the shadow where the arrow had been fired. "Who are you?" Ra's questioned, his let hand clutching the wound as blood seeped in between his figures before running down the back of his hand.

"You know who I am." A clear voice echoed through the room.

All of a sudden a figure materialised from the darkness landing in a clear part of the room, he slowly stood, raising his hand he carefully pealed his hood back revealing his face. Several gasps could be heard around the room, as well as many whispers of one name, " _Oliver_ ".

"You're dead." Slade exclaimed.

"Oh how many time's I've heard that, but we all know that men can come back from the dead, as you well know," he looked over the criminals, "as al of you do."

"You've been watching us." Roy concluded.

"Yes, although I did not know that Sebastian was also watching you, his appearance was a pleasant surprise since you were drawing in on me." Oliver explained.

"Why?" Thea asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"Why, what?" Oliver asked confused.

"Why did you not come back, we thought you were dead, I grieved for you, for the second time!" She spat her words harsh and angry.

"I could not protect you if you knew that I was there, and I could not be with you without putting you all in more danger."

"But we've already said, we are your friends.. your family. We will o through any danger with you." Laurel reminded him.

"Laurel, I know that it was cruel for me to portray myself as dead, I expected to be dead, I honestly did. I longed to come back, to reveal to you that I was not dead, but I knew that stepping out of the shadows would put many targets on my back, and therefore on yours as well."

"But we could have taken it." Diggle protested.

"I know you all could, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt because of me-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Roy interrupted, "Am I the only one who is asking the obvious question here?" He began, before he turned to Oliver, "How are you not dead? You blew up if I recall right."

"Magic." Oliver simply said, causing many jaws to drop in the room.

"Magic?" Ra's mused, "Like Darhk?"

Oliver turned to the man, "Not quite."

"Then what then."

Oliver sighed, they deserved an explanation, "All that time spent with Damien his magical aura rubbed off on me. I would not of been able to use it however if it was not for a mark given to me by a certain John Constantine during my stay on the island. Just before my death I thought about you," He turned to his friends, "I thought about all the happy moments in my life that made all the bad times bearable. This seemed to trigger the magic inside me, so when the blast went off it protected me from it."

"Wow." Roy stated dumbstruck.

"Well that is at least what I believe happened, I could be totally wrong-" Sirens could be heard in a distance, he turned to the four and found them trying to make a break for it whilst his attention was being drawn elsewhere. However in the split of a second five arrows were flying through, not a single person had seen him draw even one, and they hit each target.

"Oliver?" Questioned Diggle.

He turned back to them, "Don't worry there only tranquilisers." He reassured, the sirens grew louder.

"Who alerted them?" Roy questioned.

"A woman saw a man unconscious outside." Oliver informed as he moved behind where they were knelt. Pulling out a knife he began to cut through the rope tied around Diggle's wrist , "I must be going." He stated. Once the ropes were free he placed the knife in Diggle's hands.

"As much as I hate to say it," Diggle started as he rubbed where the rope had been tightly bound around his wrists, he began to turn, "but we need you." He looked up, expecting to see Oliver, but found that he had been talking to thin air, a smirked, "I hate it when he does that." He began to untie the others.

* * *

Behind the computer desk, Felicity sat in silence tear tracks running down her face, but she had been too absorbed in the drama to notice when the crystal tears had escaped and trickled down her checks. Her mind was frozen as it spun around a soul thought, " _He's alive."_

* * *

 _IT'S NOT WHAT YOU_

 _GO THROUGH THAT DEFINES YOU;_

 _YOU CAN'T HELP THAT._

 _IT'S WHAT YOU DO AFTER_

 _YOU'VE GONE THROUGH IT_

 _THAT REALLY TESTS_

 _WHO YOU ARE_

* * *

 **This the End of this Story. Maybe there will be another but I'm not sure. If some great idea pops up from you lot or in my mind then it will be quite possible.**

 **PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW**

 **RavenLu22...**


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